Simple Trivalent Cobalt Complex-Mediated Copolymerization of Epoxides with Isocyanate: Combining High Activity and Selectivity

Controlled ring-opening copolymerization involving epoxides represents a valuable strategy for the synthesis of oxygenated polymers with unique biodegradability and biocompatibility. In this study, simple trivalent metal complexes, salenM(III)X (salen = N,N′-bis(salicylidine) diamine derivatives, M = Al, Cr, and Co), are employed for copolymerizing p-tosyl isocyanate (TSI) with epoxides, generating perfectly alternating polyurethanes with various structures and tunable properties. The trivalent cobalt acetate complex of N,N′-bis(salicylidine)-o-phenylenediamine bearing 3- and 3′-, 5- and 5′-tert-butyl groups exhibited the highest activity of up to 41,400 h–1 under mild conditions. This single-site catalyst also showed excellent activity and selectivity for copolymer formation even at an extremely low loading of 0.002 mol % without any cocatalyst activator and operated efficiently for various terminal epoxides, affording completely alternating polyurethanes with high molecular weights and narrow polydispersities. Also, this catalyst was tolerant of large quantities of chain transfer agents, thereby allowing control of the molecular weight. Notably, the ring opening of terminal epoxides predominantly occurring at the methylene C–O bond resulted in the formation of stereoregular polyurethanes with more than 96% head-to-tail content.